Hello Friday – By Christine Fischer-Stoess

• October 7, 2016
• Dr. Catherine-Anne Walsh

Hello everyone! It’s Friday!! Happy start to the weekend! And my other favorite Friday F word is—Drumroll please—Floss! What did you think I was going to say?

I know we give you the constant lecture about the importance of flossing and sometimes it might seem that we really champion the cause (and who are we kidding here? I really Do!) but I think it might be time to review the advantages of flossing. Despite the recent media coverage about the potentially negative or non-measurable benefits of flossing⁽¹⁾, positive benefits do exist:

1)      Removal of interdental plaque⁽²⁾. Despite being the best tooth-brusher on the planet, you are only getting about half the job done with that toothbrush. Flossing, interdental brushing, flosettes, toothpicks and other in-between-your-teeth aids all help to achieve plaque removal. In theory, this should result in less cavity formation and therefore fewer trips to the dentist, less chair time and less dollars spent.

Do I really need to convince you further? My husband always sells me on whatever it is with the pricepoint—and he knows it. But there may be some other benefits to flossing which include:

-an expected reduction in the prevalence of periodontal disease⁽³⁾.  Nearly half of all Americans suffer from gum disease-which ends in tooth loss-and I would expect the Australian population to have similar stats.

-a decrease in halitosis⁽³⁾. That’s clinical jargon for bad breath. What a Friday wrecker.

Hopefully you don’t decide to chuck your floss in the bin-I still want you to give it a shot. Please see the ADA page on how to properly floss⁽²⁾ if you have forgotten since we last spoke in the office…. Besides, how good will it be to inform me that yes, you have in fact, been flossing! Happy Weekend!

Cited

1)      http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36962667

2)      http://www.ada.org.au/Your-Dental-Health/Adults-31-64/flossing

3)      http://loveyourgums.tumblr.com/